Herbs & Botanicals

Just returned from lush green, rainy and pristine rural Ethiopia where we - the Kenyan team - joined a regional team of passionate agro-ecological practitioners whose mandate is to build capacity for farmers, in mountainous and rural areas, to embrace safer organic farming practices, as part of Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture(NSA).

One may ask what does WiFi, mobile phones and microwave radiation have to do with organic agriculture and cancer? Everything, I would say…and here is why.

Against the above background, there is renewed interest in identifying the unknown or less known potential risk factors that, collectively, may be contributing to the increasing cases of cancer. Recent evidence demonstrates that electromagnetic fields/frequencies may have a cumulative cancer causing effect; Here is recent evidence, albeit controversial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=d9B688uSaTs

From a public health and epidemiological point of view, this evidence is adequate to necessitate the application of the precautionary principle, on safety. The increasing deployment of the 5 Generation phones(5G) is especially worrying from a safety point of view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=d9B688uSaTs

What is the link between electromagnetic radiation, radio frequencies and use of microwaves in heating, thawing or warming food? Here are 10 reasons why one should avoid using microwaves, including their increased risk factor, for abnormal atomic and molecular vibration causing aberrations and new “unnatural” products that may trigger cancer. https://www.health-science.com/microwave-hazards/

There is need to reduce the multifactorial risk factors which are associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cancers. This can be achieved by reducing exposure to environmental toxins, including all forms of electromagnetic fields.

Make an informed choice to “microwave” food or not before it is consumed.

Finally, promote agroecological organic principles and practices, in farming and food consumption, to reduce exposure to agrochemical toxins, on the one hand and on the other hand discourage the use of microwaves. Using meat as an example, meat heated in a microwave may generate carcinogens, including nitrosamines: These toxins may denature the food or result in release of toxic products, like nitrodiethanolamine, a known carcinogen! https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4472216/

Good people, the month of June has come and gone but not without registering a historical landmark; the 1stInternational Conference on Agroecology, Transforming Agriculture and Food Systems in Africa, which took place on June 18th – 20th, 2019, at Safari Park Hotel & Casino, Nairobi, Kenya.

The “cocktail audience” provided robust evidence and shared case studies, based on field experience and findings, demonstrating that the current chemical industrial monoculture food system is unsustainable while presenting convincing evidence why agroecological farming systems is the alternative food system; It can can feed the world, sustainably, without destroying the ecosystem, including soil beneficial soil microorganisms.

Is there evidence that glyphosate in Roundup, the most widely used synthetic agrochemical molecule, traded as Roundup, is a systemic biocide that kills everything it comes in contact with? YES. It does not even spare the "unpaid farm worker”, the earthworm… yet it is known that the presence ofearthworms is an indicator of soil fertilityand vice versa.

The above evidence, adds to a long list of other life forms that glyphosate and its so called “inert” forms, kill…the “inert forms, are, shockingly, upto 100,000 times more toxic than glyphosate(Seralini et al, 2018).

This evidence and more, was presented at the Conference by various speakers, including a live video presentation, by Prof. Gilles-Eric Seralini; some of the findings are shocking to the extent that Seralini recommends that Monsanto, the original manufacturer of Roundup, deliberately committed a monumental fraud by not disclosing this information to users of Roundup!

What is the way forward, Post Conference?

A Call to Action (to be shared in next month’s article) reiterates the need for a transformational shift to more sustainable agroecological food systems, aligned and anchored on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which emphasize the need for a “ People, Planet and Profits…leaving no one behind” approach: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?

It is increasingly evident that the current chemical industrial food systems, informed the paradigm the “warfare industry” aka the “killing industry”, is not sustainable and that there is an urgent need for a transformational shift to a system of “live and let live” or one in alignment with “sustaining life”, in harmony with nature, as opposed to being “at war” with nature.

Top scientists, with opposing views, who participated in the Conference seemed to have a consensus that, there is need to feed the world’s population, without killing life, without using synthetic biocides, like glyphosate in Roundup; watch the TV interview here:

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Going forward, the evidence is piling up: UN bodies, like FAO, are increasingly convinced that Agroecology CAN FEED THE WORLD without “killing” life…that there is no need for man-made biocides, like glyphosate, which, insidiously, kill all life.

Good people, the month of June has come and gone but not without registering a historical landmark; the 1stInternational Conference on Agroecology, Transforming Agriculture and Food Systems in Africa, which took place on June 18th – 20th, 2019, at Safari Park Hotel & Casino, Nairobi, Kenya.

The “cocktail audience” provided robust evidence and shared case studies, based on field experience and findings, demonstrating that the current chemical industrial monoculture food system is unsustainable while presenting convincing evidence why agroecological farming systems is the alternative food system; It can can feed the world, sustainably, without destroying the ecosystem, including soil beneficial soil microorganisms.

Do we have evidence that glyphosate in Roundup, the most widely used synthetic agrochemical molecule, traded as Roundup, is a systemic biocide that kills everything that comes on its way? YES. It does not even spare the “farm worker” the earthworm… yet it is known that the presence ofearthworms is an indicator of soil fertilityand vice versa.

The above evidence, adds to a long list of other life forms that glyphosate and its so called “inert” forms, kill…the “inert forms, are, shockingly, upto 100,000 times more toxic than glyphosate(Seralini et al, 2018).

This evidence and more, was presented at the Conference by various speakers, including a live video presentation, by Prof. Gilles-Eric Seralini; some of the findings are shocking to the extent that Seralini recommends that Monsanto, the original manufacturer of Roundup, deliberately committed a monumental fraud by not disclosing this information to users of Roundup!

What is the way forward, Post Conference?

A Call to Action(to be shared in next month’s article) reiterates the need for a transformational shift to more sustainable agroecological food systems, aligned and anchored on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which emphasize the need for a “ People, Planet and Profits…leaving no one behind” approach: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?

It is increasingly evident that the current chemical industrial food systems, informed the paradigm the “warfare industry” aka the “killing industry”, is not sustainable and that there is an urgent need for a transformational shift to a system of “live and let live” or one in alignment with “sustaining life”, in harmony with nature, as opposed to being “at war” with nature.

Top scientists, with opposing views, who participated in the Conference seemed to have a consensus that, there is need to feed the world’s population, without killing life, without using synthetic biocides, like glyphosate in Roundup; watch the TV interview here:

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Going forward, the evidence is piling up: UN bodies, like FAO, are increasingly convinced that Agroecology CAN FEED THE WORLD without “killing” life…that there is no need for man-made biocides, like glyphosate, which, insidiously, kills all life.

Good people, the month of May is here and with it the skies have opened and the rains are, finally, here!

This month we share cutting edge evidence from leading trans-disciplinary experts who, through their independent research, confirm that GMOs and pesticides are UNSAFE, and if left unchecked, they pose a real existential threat to humanity..Dr. Zach Bush estimates that, only 70 years are left before humanity becomes extinct….if we don’t change what we consume...

Let us start with a quote from Hippocrates:..”all disease begins and ends in the gut”… the opposite of food being “medicine” is food being “poison”…the evidence points to GMOs in combination with pesticides, doing exactly that…here below the evidence.

Evidence from the research findings of Zach Bush, a brilliant triple board certified physician: His research findings can only be described as shocking and revolutionary: Watch and listen to the evidence here:

Evidence from a former biotech scientist, Thierry Vrain, a retired Canadian GMO-Glyphosate Expert:

Evidence from Don Huber, an Emeritus Professor of Plant Pathologist who is a foremost expert on the dangers of GMOs and Glyphosate: He validates Zach Bush’s findings and explains how glyphosate is not only a pesticide and but also a broad spectrum antibiotic which selectively kills the “good bacteria” in the gut while allowing the growth of “bad bacteria”, like clostridium difficile, which cause disease:

More supportive evidence from Steffanie Seneff, an MIT computer expert and biologist, shows epidemiologically significant correlation between introduction of GMOs and increased use of glyphosate with increase of Autism and Cancers, among other chronic diseases, including increasing rates of diabetes. Listen to one of her presentations here:

Evidence from Shiva Ayyadurai, an award winning MIT scientist: His research findings, using computer algorithms, demonstrate that GMOs, unlike non-GMOs, accumulate formaldehyde a toxic carcinogen and further explains that the current GMO safety assessments are inadequate, exposing consumers to unsafe GMO foods:

Scientific prove from Judy Carman, a leading Australian public health researcher and epidemiologist, that GMOs cause gut inflammation and other dysfunctions that trigger ill heath in animals and humans:

And finally, we conclude with breakthrough biomedical evidence from David Perlmutter, a celebrity neurologist, on the link between the gut and the brain. Dr. Perlmutter, is the author the book “Gut brain connection” and numerous publications demonstrating the connection between human gut health; “gut microbiome” and the human brain: Watch this fascinating interview here:

Going forward, what are the safe food alternatives to replace GMOs and pesticides?

The answer is both simple and complex: The simple part is; Encourage, promote and mainstream agroecological and organic food production and consumption and supportive systems, including consumption of local indigenous vegetables, free from GMOs and pesticides:

Here is a presentation from one of the leading promoters of African Indigenous Vegetables(AIVs), demonstrating and promoting AIVs: Mary Abukutsia Onyango:

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The complex part is advocating for mainstreaming of agro-ecological organic practices into the conventional “industrial agriculture biased” agricultural policies and regulations.

In conclusion and for more evidence on why GMOs and pesticides are the PROBLEM and scaling up agroecological organic agriculture and related foods is the SOLUTION, kindly register and attend the Scaling up Agroecology and Reducing Pesticides Conference, June, 18 -21, Safari Park, Nairobi, Kenya; Here: https://www.agroecologyconference.eoai-africa.org/

Good people, the month of June is here and with it the “chilly” season.

This month we share some “chilling” scientific evidence of the harmful effects of the commonly used chemical, glyphosate, whose scientific name is N-phosphono-methyl-glycine. This manufactured synthetic chemical molecule, invented by Monsanto, and its “inert” additives has been called the “devils molecule” by some scientists….here is why!

Did you know that glyphosate, in animal feed and water sources, negatively affects the gut microbiome of cows by killing the “good bacteria” and allowing the proliferation of the ‘bad bacteria”? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25407376

Finally, the author of this article, based on available evidence, is convinced we can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) and feed the world organically without using harmful synthetic pesticides. Listen here:

For more evidence on why the world needs to urgently and transformatively change its food production and consumption system, join us in this 1st International Conference of its kind, where the impact of the pesticide problem will be presented and viable scalable agroecological solution will be presented in the same Conference with viable Organic Trade business, locally and globally, all aligned to the clarion call of the 17 SDGS…”for People, Planet and Profits…leaving no one behind. Click here to register: https://www.agroecologyconference.eoai-africa.org/

The month of April 2019 is here and with it the beginning of the 2rd quarter of the year. The much awaited long rains are yet to start. The manifestations of the Equinox – unusually high temperatures - have been particularly punishing…there is a sense of gloom and doom… the negative socio-economic effects are evident; from famine to high inflationary rates…and more.

Here are some of the reasons why we should urgently shift away the conventional “industrial-chemical-monoculture” food production model…before it is too late.

More than six years ago, a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report published on September 18th, 2013 called for radical changes in agriculture and food production stating that: “Farming in rich and poor nations alike should shift from monoculture towards greater varieties of crops, reduced use of fertilizers and other inputs, greater support for small-scale farmers, and more locally focused production and consumption of food”, the report recommends.

World renowned environmental thinker and activist, Dr. Vandana Shiva, has constantly warned humanity of the inequality and disparity created by the “Billionnaires Club” who, increasingly, seek to control global resources and power, to the detriment of 99% of humanity, in her new book: Oneness: https://www.alliance-editeurs.org/oneness-vs-the-1-shattering,1540?

Here is a short video of Vandana Shiva explaining the unfolding ecological disaster with this unsustainable model:

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Do we have evidence that these “toxic foods” from synthetic chemical farming not only harm the environment but also harm human health? YES, we do: Here is the scientific evidence from two leading scientists and researchers, Prof. Gilles-Eric Seralini and Dr. Judy Carman: Their links here: https://www.gmoseralini.org/en/ and https://gmojudycarman.org/

Why should these detrimental food systems concern us locally? Africa and Africans should be concerned because these food systems are not aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework which should inform food production systems and requisite farm inputs.

As part of the way forward, we continue to share evidence for policy advocacy and awareness creation with various stakeholders, including policy makers, farmers and consumers:

We advocate for agroecologicl food production systems as able to feed the world.

Together with other like-minded groups, we continue to educate and involve everyone, especially the youth-the millennial. They are the greatest losers(or winners) from this asymmetrical power and control of the food system:

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In conclusion, we have an obligation to bequeath our children a safer and more livable future devoid of ill health and enslavement from the 1% who own the “toxic herbicides/pesticides” which help grow the “patented monocultures”, as commodities for trade, rather than as safe, nutrient rich foods: The upcoming 1st International Conference on Agroecology is about the WHY and more: Register here; https://www.worldfoodpreservationcenterpesticidecongress.com/